


Where The Pavement Ends

by Phoenix02



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Childhood Friends, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Drug Addiction, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Healing, Loss and Grief, Loyalty, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Some angst, Tribe - Freeform, beach au, carova beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:55:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix02/pseuds/Phoenix02
Summary: They had been to Hell and Back, both individually and together. They have lost too many loved ones along the way. They saw how money and power could corrupt people. They learned how addiction could happen to anyone. They hurt each other along the way as all families and friends do at times. Truthfully, they were all delinquents at one time or another.  In the end though, they realized that they were far better together, than apart. They pooled their assets and attributes.  They created their own little village, with a main house.  They forged their own path, as their ancestors in this lands did so many years ago.See where they are now in their journey, and have a glimpse  back in time to where they began. They're story is far from over.Beach AU, some OOC. I redid the summary because the first time it was crap.
Relationships: Abby Griffin & Jake Griffin, Abby Griffin/Marcus Kane, Bellamy Blake & Octavia Blake, Bellamy Blake/Echo, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Emori/John Murphy (The 100), Emori/John Murphy/Raven Reyes, John Murphy/Raven Reyes, Octavia Blake/Levitt, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Where The Pavement Ends

**Author's Note:**

> We'll see how this goes. I'm a bit rusty, but hopefully this isn't too poorly written. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.

The sun had begun to slowly rise, peeking out from the horizon. The ocean was calm, nearly still, shimmering in the early morning light. An array of colors spilled from the rising sun. Orange, Purple and pink spread across the sea and into the dawning blue gray sky. Small, lazy waves lapped at the shore. With the tide at its lowest, the sand glistened. A pod of dolphins swan parallel to the shore. Their dorsal fins could be seen occasionally breaching the surface of the water. A group of pelicans came into view, in a line, skimming the surface of the water, fishing for their breakfast. It was an incredible sight. One they had seen countless times, yet it still captivated them as if it were the first time. A collective sigh escaped the three and they returned to their task. They each had a tire gauge in hand, methodically letting the air out of the Jeep Wrangler they were traveling in. The Jeep belonged to the fourth member of their group who remained in the back seat. 

Murphy, Raven and Emori were letting the air pressure in the vehicle’s tires down to 15 PSI. In normal circumstances, doing so would be ill advised. However, these were not normal circumstances. The Jeep was parked at the end of a faded, paved road. It gave way to the beach. Only vehicles with four wheel drive can maneuver the twelve mile trek up the beach to their destination. The storm from the night before had washed away the traces of the few sets of tire tracks in the sand. Traffic was slow this time of year and tourists were few and far in between. Locals were mostly all that remained in the off season. 

It was November, three weeks shy of Thanksgiving and there was a bite to the crisp morning air. The three retreated to the warmth of the Jeep when they finished their task. Lexa woke when Murphy slid into the back seat with her. She grumbled and shifted awkwardly, clearly in pain. Her movement was somewhat restricted by the soft cast which kept her elbow bent in an L shape and the sling her left arm rested in. He offers an empathetic smile and shifts toward her opening his arms. She only nods and leans toward him, gratefully. He adjusts their position so that Lexa is mostly laying on him, her head in his lap and her wounded arm, resting gently between her and the backseat. She hummed in contentment, making the other three smile fondly. 

With Emori behind the wheel and Raven riding shotgun, they slowly drove over the “ramp” of deeper sand. Lexa hissed in pain while the Jeep was jostled around, until they reached the strip of hard packed sand that ran alongside the shoreline. Careful not to drive in the wet sand, Emori settled into a slow pace of only around 15 MPH. Riding in the wet sand can cause rust and will damage any vehicle. They had seen it too many times too count. The tourist on vacation from up north somewhere thinks he’s cool driving through the remnants of waves being reclaimed by the sea. In actuality, he ends up looking like a moron to anyone who knows better. No matter how many people they tried to caution against doing so, there was always that one person who wouldn’t listen and paid the price. They had seen so many tourists get their vehicles stuck, some got stuck close enough to be swallowed up with the rising tide. Some tourists ignored the 4x4 warning and attempted to drive their sedan onto the beach. 

“Sorry Lex…” Emori offered, checking on her friend in the back seat.

“S’okay. Not your fault Em.” Lex mumbled, trying to breathe through the pain.

Lexa had had surgery the day before in Va Beach. It was her 6th or 7th in under four years. She couldn’t remember at the moment. Murphy ran his fingers soothingly through her hair. He caught Emori’s and Raven’s eyes in the rear view mirror and smiled at them both. 

“I mean, I can drive if you want. You guys never let me drive anymore…”, Murphy quipped.

“NO!!” All three women emphatically agreed. Lexa even chuckled lightly as Raven and Emori scowled at him. Despite the chill they rolled their windows down slightly, just enough to breathe in the salty air. The smell of the salt in the air was comforting. They silently drove north, up the beach to Carova, to home.

There were countless tourist beach destinations in the US, let alone world wide. Carova Beach, well, it was a bit different than most. There are no boardwalks nor carnival rides. There are no novelty shops, no bars or restaurants of any kind. In fact, there were no businesses at all. There were no paved roads, only sand roads. There were no hotels. Carova Beach lies at the most northern edge of the peninsula of North Carolina, home to the popular Outer Banks. It is nestled in the south eastern edge of the Va state line between two wildlife preserves. This is a rather contributing factor as to why Carova is vastly different from Va Beach, it’s neighbor to the north and from the more well known towns of the OBX collectively. These wildlife preserves prevent paved state roads from reaching Carova on either side. They also make it impossible for the state to build a bridge directly linking the mainland to Carova over the sound. It created a bit of a bubble for the residents of the area. It kept them safe from the destruction tourism would bring to their home. They were free from the trappings of the world. They were free from the influence of a fake society. There was no “keeping up with the Jones’”. Money wasn’t important. They didn’t need “designer” clothes. Those things were trivial and did nothing but distract from what life is really about. The families who reside in Carova were a tight knit group. Their tribe was a mixture of the original families who resided here and those who have fallen in love with the life here and now call it home themselves. The tribe, The Trikru have a large plot of the area designated as Trikru Reservation. There are several other families who have planted roots deep in the sand as the Trikru have. Their families have branched out and purchased a good portion of the available land, which still left a fair amount of land to be bought by those who seized the opportunity. Rental properties were minimal in the early days of the 80s. Over the years, with the aid of the internet and social media, tourism to the area has increased drastically. It is still greatly limited by the aforementioned constraints. The trikru land is on the sound side of the peninsula, nestled into the Va border. The brackish waters of the sound and the wildlife preserve to their north keeps the tribe more isolated from the throngs of vacationers in the summer months. 

The group had only just begun the drive up the beach when they saw what the locals referred to as Penny Hill, coming into view. It was surely a shock to any newcomer to see the scattered, well worn tree stumps in the surf and dotted along the sandy shore. There was once a small forest here it is believed. Still, it makes driving at night tricky if one’s not careful. Several cottages and larger houses lie behind the dunes on the western side of the beach. There is one enormous sand dune that lies beyond the barrier of sand dunes along the beach as well. That would be “Penny Hill”. So many tales have been spun about its origin. The truth is Carova’s roots stretch all the way to this area. The whole entirety of the Outer Banks is rich with history, legends, lore, ghost stories and so much more. Rental properties cluster behind the protective sand dunes for a bit until they abruptly cease. This part of the drive is void of all human touch. This wildlife preserve stretches for a few miles creating a “desert” in appearance. Shore birds flitted along the edge of the waves spilling onto the beach, in search of sand fleas or clams. The sun rose higher, brightening the entire landscape. 

They drove north for a few more miles and two structures came into view, ever growing larger the closer they came to them. A small white cottage and a miniature version of a lighthouse, white as well, lie just on the other side of the sand dunes that run parallel to the ocean the entire strip of beach they were on. There is a break in the dunes just before the faded white coast guard station that had long since closed. It remained behind as a visual reminder of the rich history of the land. It also served as a reference point. Rae reached back and squeezed Murph’s hand to get his attention. He pulled himself from his ever drifting thoughts and smiled at her fondly. She winked and nodded toward the Coast Guard station. He looked up and met Em’s eyes in the rear view, nodding in agreement to their silent question to take the back roads home. The network of sandy roads beyond the dunes were relatively flat and wouldn’t be as bumpy and uncomfortably painful for their Lexa. He leaned down and shifted Lex’s Pillow to lie between her splinted arm and the car seat. Em slowed the Jeep to a stop. Lex grumbled, but relaxed into Murph’s protective hold. They’ve done this quite a few times in recent years, too many times. The four of them had become so much closer as a result. They were a family. She settled into a comfortable position and nodded for Em to start driving again, gradually shifting the Jeep across the deeper sand towards the “ramp” at the coast guard Station. The beach is a mix and match blend of tire tracks running from north to south, mostly parallel to the sea and the dunes. With a well practiced ease, Em moved across the tracks almost fluidly. 

“It’s kind of like shuffling a deck of cards, but slowly... You ease the wheels over one lane at a time and you’ll find the rhythm. Don’t fight it, it’s just like riding a wave.” Bell’s voice echoes in Lexa’s mind. He was one of the few people who had taught them all to drive in the sand. He was gone now, though. Her big brother Losing her big brother Lincoln had been devastating, but seeing her best friend Bell downward spiral afterwards was heartbreaking. It was a road Lex couldn’t allow herself to go down at the moment, so she shook it off and focused on her surroundings. It was still rather early and once over the ramp the sandy roads became mostly flat and much less bumpy. 

The rain had washed away any animal or vehicle tracks left behind from the day before. There were some low spots which were now shallow pools of rain water. She gestured off to the left when she saw a couple of wild horses from one of the few herds that call this land home as well. Their fresh tracks in the road indicated a much smaller colt was with them. Em navigated them home through the network of “grids'' or “blocks'' of, mostly named, sandy roads. It didn’t take long until they were pulling off onto their property’s two track smaller road and coming to a stop in front of their “Kru House.”

The Kru House was located somewhat centrally to other numerous “tiny” cottages branching off from it. It was, by far, the largest on the property. It had a restaurant quality kitchen, a sizable dining area, and a master suite one the first floor. There was an open floor plan with a game room on the second floor. It consisted of a pool table, sound system, full bar, a few with large TVs on the walls,a few game consoles and a large living area. The third floor held 4 bedrooms, one of which was a master bedroom. The other three had a queen size bed in each as well as 2 full bathrooms. 

There were wrap-around decks on the first, second and third floors. All of the bedrooms had sliding glass doors allowing them access to the deck. There was an elevator as well as indoor and outdoor stairs. The outdoor stairs ultimately led to a crow’s nest deck up on the roof. The interior of the house was a mix of light blues. There were paintings and photographs hung upon the walls throughout. Most of the paintings and sketches were done by Clarke, Lincoln and a few others from their tribe. The couches and chairs were comfortable and well worn. It wasn’t lavish in the way most beach houses for rent were along the shoreline. It was comfortable, warm and inviting. There was a private pool and hot tub area off to one side of the house on the ground floor. On the other side there were horseshoe pits, corn hole boards, dart boards and a private outdoor shower set up. There was a large, outdoor screened in dining area off from the kitchen. On the back side of the house there was a fire pit in the small clearing in the woods around them. A small shed off to the side held extra firewood, chairs and a few blankets. 

There was no actual ground level of the house as it was up on stilts. There was a covered area for ATV parking and covered outdoor lounge area under the house itself. It was a great help on rainy days. They had a sound system hooked up throughout the house, which included outdoor speakers. No one person actually lived in the Kru house though. The four upper bedrooms were usually just used by visiting family and friends. The ground floor master however, was essentially Lexa’s. She had her own tiny cottage tucked into the back of the property, along the canal, it was distanced just a bit farther than the others, however she stayed in the Kru house when she had surgery or was injured. The kitchen and the second floor however, were used everyday. They enjoyed being together and tried to share as many meals as possible. They hung out together at the house nearly every day and night. 

This morning though, it was quiet. Everyone knew Lex would need the peace and quiet. As the foursome entered the kitchen, the smell of freshly made pancakes caused Rae’s stomach to growl loudly. Chuckling, Em kissed her cheek, Murphy fondly kissed her other cheek and made them each a plate. Rae and Em made coffee and finished setting up the table. They ate happily, but it wasn’t long before Lex was ready to go lay down for a while. They smoked a joint together and Lex took a dose of CBD oil, before crawling into her bed to sleep for a bit longer.


End file.
